Stage star Johnny McKnight celebrated the magic of Scottish theatre assuming the character of one of his favourite pantomime dames.
Delivering The Cameron Lecture at a packed University of Glasgow’s Bute Hall, the performer, director and educator highlighted Scotland’s theatre traditions.
The lecture, delivered in partnership between the University of Glasgow and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, honours Dr Alasdair Cameron, a champion of the Scottish theatre.
Mr McKnight, a Royal Conservatoire of Scotland alumnus, delivered the 2024 lecture, The Panto Dame (She's Behind You), in full panto dame attire, embodying his loved panto character, Dorothy Blawna-Gale.
He said: “It is a great honour to help remember the contribution of Scottish theatre personality Alasdair Cameron and to also celebrate Scotland’s much-loved pantomime genre.
"I feel very honoured to give the Cameron Lecture 2024 and hope, for one day only, to bring a bit of the magic and character of the panto to the Bute Hall and the University of Glasgow.”
Iconic pantomime costumes, from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, added a touch of glamour.
The collection included a dress worn by legendary Scottish entertainer Jimmy Logan OBE as Lizzie Trotter in Jack and the Beanstalk.
A selection of panto costumes was worn by five costume students from the BA Production Arts and Design degree programme at RCS.
Also exhibited was a silver dress, sported by one of Scotland’s finest panto dames, Stanley Baxter, back in the 1986 production of Aladdin at The King's Theatre Glasgow.
Dr Cameron was a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow's Department of Theatre Studies.
His untimely death inspired the creation of the Cameron Lecture series to highlights his love of Scottish theatre and its practitioners.
John Tiffany, whose credits include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London’s West End, said: "Alasdair was a hugely inspiring and inspirational teacher who was wonderfully kind.
"I am so thrilled that the exceptionally talented Johnny McKnight has agreed to give this year’s Cameron Lecture.
"I am delighted that Alasdair’s remarkable legacy is now being shared with a wider audience through these lectures and held at the University of Glasgow which he loved dearly.”
The Cameron Lecture series was kick-started in 2019 by Hollywood, Broadway and TV star and fellow Royal Conservatoire of Scotland alumnus Alan Cumming.
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